Activity

@ps1l0v3y0u

Agree – he was saying it in reference to his love of the original Blake’s 7 which, as I’m sure you’ll agree, was shonky as hell, but very entertaining.  It comes down to story and character imo. The issue now is that, because SF is normally so seamless, that is the expectation for all shows going forward. I know people who bemoan…[Read more]

@whohar

You get the impression of people jockeying for position… but actually he’s making a general point that money doesn’t necessarily make shows better, and there isn’t as much anyway anymore!

‘Something went wrong.’ Really with Who and from a writing point of view, that’s only true of the season ends. The ratings are another issue, and it’…[Read more]

This is interesting from one-time Who director Peter Hoar. A potential Blake’s 7 Reboot, via his new prod company Multitude Productions:

https://deadline.com/2026/01/blakes-7-reboot-peter-hoar-matthew-bouch-multitude-productions-1236682580/

He also has some comments on the D+ Who era, as well as tv in general, and the need (or otherwise) for a…[Read more]

@thane16 Sadly, I’m not familiar with any South African music. After university, I drifted away from classical music, for the most part. My only connection with it now is through band, and also through film orchestral scores. But, living where I do, I would have to travel for concerts beyond the local singer/songwriter realm … and I just don’t…[Read more]

@thane16 Aaron Copland owes much to Charles Ives. It’s the whole “standing on the shoulders of giants” foundation and progression that is art. Copland’s music (the more programmatic pieces, anyway … not so much the avant garde ones from later in his career) do give a sweeping sense of Americana. Maybe it’s that sense of nostalgia that appeals to…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u By george she did it!!

Ooops that was @whohar too. And @ps1l0v3y0u @JanetteB glad you’re spared, this time. The heat wave is impressively awful though.

I remember in the 80s with weeks of heat at C37+ & school letting us out at 11:45 with arvos at friend’s pools or a cheeky sneak into the back of cool movie theatres.

The kettle story is a great one. I had similar exp…[Read more]

@janetteb @thane16 @ps1l0v3y0u @nerys @whisht

Yes, the bushfires were fairly close – about 50km / a half hour drive away. We saw nothing until last Saturday when the sky filled with a light smoke, turning the sky orange-brown and the sun a vivid red. Something that would have signaled the end of days to those unscientific folk in times gone past.…[Read more]

@ whohar @nerys @PS  oh yes! Sibelius’ style was something I came to appreciate much later in life. @PS I first read that post without my glasses & read “prism of the Frog.” Ok, there, better research THAT one, as I’ve never heard of The Frog. I thought it’s probably a libretto by Aristophanes with music by Schoenberg because that’s EXACTLY what…[Read more]

@mudlark    I am so sorry about your friend. It sounds like you had some good shared experiences that you will always remember.

I love the term “crumblitude” and intend to use it! Its a great word that totally works.

@thane16  Thank you for asking about my leg. It is  good most of the time although a little stiff in the morning but that only mat…[Read more]

@thane16 Love Fanfare for the Common Man! I think part of the reason I love Copland’s music is because of his use of open fifths. Such resonant chords. In high school my wind ensemble played El Salon Mexico. Quite a challenge for a small-town Indiana band, but we loved it.

And I love it that as a young’un, you thought ELP composed that music.…[Read more]

@thane16 @nerys @mudlark @whohar @whisht

Much (though far from all) my knowledge of Classical comes via the prism of Prog. Mind you first time I heard Tapiola by Sibelius it was a ‘building a library’ program… basically a Head of David like 1/2 hour wall of sound interspersed with two terribly educated gents asking each other… ‘which one do yo…[Read more]

@ps1l0v3y0u Aaron Copland is my favorite composer. He kept his private life very quiet, while composing gorgeous music across a spectrum that ranged from the programmatic style he’s best known for, to a more avant garde style. Appalachian Spring moved me to tears the first time I heard it, and still does.

@mudlark I’m sorry about the death of…[Read more]

@PS @whohar

ooh yes, I’m a Brahms fan. And I also like him because he understood the significance of technique (you mentioned this too, Whohar & its application to written structures) & that the pre-Romantic tradition of tight, organised, quite rules-driven composition needed to be understood before moving into an area where breaking rules c…[Read more]

@whohar @thane16

Howard Goodall (of multiple tv theme contributions) presented an interesting program a decade or more ago called ‘The Story of Music’, about the Western Classical Tradition. Not sure if it’s still in circulation.

However, I found I parted company with his narrative after Beethoven. Not because I don’t like Romantic Classic…[Read more]

@mudlark. Good to hear from you but sorry to hear about your friend, (and the health issues. I hope they are all in hand.) Your story about the kettle made me smile. Back in 1983 my friend and I, newly arrived in London, bought a kettle. We had no idea of how to attach the plug. In Australia appliances always came with plugs attached. We were…[Read more]

@thane16

Thanks, puro, and a happy new year to you also. And congratulations on the conducting gig.

My Christmas/New Year was quiet and pleasantly self indulgent – and for once the weather was good; cold but crisp and sunny. Sadly, shortly afterwards I received news of the death on Christmas Eve of one of my oldest friends , which put a…[Read more]

@winston

I realised I hadn’t read your post properly. 😞
I hope your leg isn’t ailing you too much? Falls are an awful part of life.

Where we live, many paths have had roots & tree trunks encroaching on them & so daily walks are best, but if it’s hot, then evening walks are the only option. & then …..crash.

I like Russel Tovey too. First time I…[Read more]